Golf club grip



J. V. EAST GOLF CLUB GRI P March 7, 1939.

Filed May 25, 1935 u l r 'l lll-rlllln'lllllllllllulllllllllll 'lll lllvllillil u; 1 I;

James cior EIM/2", WWM,

Patented Mar. 7, 1939 UNITED STATES Gow CLUB Giur James Victor East, Longmeadow, Mass.,assignor to A. G. Spalding Bros., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application May 25,

1 Claim.

This invention relates to gol! club grips and provides a grip which induces proper grasping of the club by a player and a correct stance. The combination thereby establishes the most eiiective measure of positioning the combined muscular forces for their maximum' effort in striking the ball. The grip adapts itself to the player so that the club becomes more in the nature of a part of the player instead of a mere accessory to him.

A player, rectly grasp a golf club. necessarily rotatesrhis hands from a normal position. An object of the invention is to provide a grip which accommodates this rotational displacement of the hands.

Due to the angular positioning Eof the club across the palm and lingers, the hands in 'closing upon the grip aume a conical internal formation. This grip accommodates the conformation of the hands when they are closed thereon. Another object of the present invention is to set up against the sense of touch through the grip a feeling as to the positioning of the striking face of the club by utilizing the sensitiveness of partly the palm and partly the front vside of the lingers of the lowermost hand.

Another object lis to compensatefor the enlargement of the'upper end of the grip to accommodate the portion of the hand grasping that I0 Dart of the shaft.

-Another object of the invention is to provide a. golf club grip which will resist the tendency', noticeable in grips of ordinary construction, of the shaft to turn in the hands of the player.

A further object is to provide a grip which,

aside from its general taper, will resist the tendency of the club to slip endwise in the players hands.

Other objects of the invention will be clear from the following description;

The invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, i'n which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a golf club embodying the invention, the head being shown as a driver,

though it will be understood that the type of head forms no part of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the shaft and grip on line A--Aof Fig. 1. A

Fig. 3 is a cross section on line B-B of Fig. 1.

50 Fig. 4 is a cross section on line C-C oi Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a cross section on line D-D of Fig. l.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the upper portion only oi.' the grip in a plane extending from right to left of Fig. 1 through the axis 55 of the shaft.

vnl angmariy tilting his body to cor-A 1935, Serial. No. 23,497 (Cl. 273-81) Fig. '7 is an enlarged section taken similar to Fig. 6, of the central portion of the grip.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged side elevation of Fig. 'I taken a quarter turn therefrom.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the grip and shaft in a plane-at right angles to the plane of section in Fig. 6.

Generally considered, the features of the present invention involve the ridge il along the under side of the grip, the liattened face I5 on a lateral side of the grip, and the recesses i8 and i9 at the upper portion of the grip.

The grip of the present invention is applied to a club shaft iii which may be of any standard construction. As here shown, the shaft is of the hollow steel variety, but the invention is not limited to'this type of shaft. The grip may be made up of an internal moldable compound il as for example iinely divided rubber and cork, and an external wrapping or cover I2. The major portion of the moldable layer ii is concentric with the steel shaft and is of gradually decreasing thickness downward so as to produce a tapered grip. The variations from this general conformation of thegiip will be hereinafter noted. In forming these variations, the moldable compound is either thickened to build up an enlargement or it is thinned to form a recess relative to the general conformation. The wrapping l2 when applied to the molded formation conforms thereto so as to produce the nal grip of desired shape and size.

The ridge i3 extends lengthwise of the shaft and along the underside thereof. By the underside of the shaft is meant that side which is opposlte to the side. from which the head of the club extends or, differently stated, is the underside of the shaft when the club is in position addressing the ball. A diametrical plane passing centrally through this ridge is displaced 8 degrees from a dlametrical plane passing centrally through the upper and unde'r sides oi the shaft. This ridge is placed 8 degrees leftward of the center line of the under face of the gripy for a right handed player, or is placed 8 degrees rightward of this center line for a lefthanded player.

The ridge is offset in this manner to conform to the changes from normal occasionedA in the positioning of the hands in grasping the club. That is, it has been foundthat the angular tilting of the body so as to bring one hand lowermost upon the grip results in a rotation of the hands about the grip to the extent of 8 degrees. By placing the ridge 8 degrees oil center in the direction of rotation of the hands, the ridge passes centrally across both hands. The desired feel that the ridge is lowermost in the hands is thus maintained.

'Ihe ridge is of blunt formation and this is `effected by its general convex formation. The

apex is smoothly rounded off and the sides Il leading up to this rounded apex are curved outwardly and gradually merge into the normal curvature of the grip.` yAs a result the'grp is cornfortabie in the hand since there are no sharp edges or depressions to which the flesh of the handhas to conform. Flu'thermore, a greater surface contact is had between the grip and hands and amore equal 'distribution of pressure results.

'Ihe ridge is of greatest height at the upper end of the grip and by gradually decreasing in height downwardly along the shaft, merges into the general formation of the grip at the lower end thereof. As a result, the ridge itself has a taper which is additive to the normal taper of the grip. Not only does this increase the resistance offered against slippage of the club through the hands, but the further advantage is had that the ridge comes into fuller contact withA the palm of the hand.

The grip is also provided with a flattened face l5 extending longitudinally thereof and positioned on a lateral side of the shaft. The fiattened face begins about 4%" down from the top of the grip and extends downwardly from this point for about 6%" further. This flattened face is indicated between the points Ii-IS and is on the right hand side for a right handed person or is on the left hand side for aleft handed person.

While the surface l5 has been defined as a flattenedface it preferably is not a plane in its entirety. The central portion I6 of the face is preferably a plane and lies closer'to the axis of the shaft than the end portions of this face. As here shown this plane portion lies substantially between the lines IB-Il but the invention is not confined to this relative position of the limits of the plane portion; The plane of this central portion is parallel to the diametrital plane passing centrally through the upper and'under sides of the grip and heretofore referred to. It may be noted that the plane of thecentral portion of the.

face is perpendicular tothe intended vertical plane in which the ball is to travel. In relation to the striking faceof the club head, it may be pointed out that the plane of the central portion of the face is parallel to a horizontal line lying in the striking face lwhen the club is in correct position impacting the ball.'

Above and below the central plane portion the face I5 merges into the general grip formation. As here shown, due to the considerable inward setting of the plane portion I6, the portions I1 of the face beyond this plane il incline or curve outwardly in order to merge into the grip surface, as can be observed from Fig. '1. While the portions II are curved longitudinally of the grip, all lines lying in these portions I'I and extending transversely of the grip are parallel to the plane of the face portionil. Because of this latter relation the general flattened character of the face I5l is maintained. Generally considered, therefore, the entire flattenedv face Il bears the relation defined for the central plane portion I6.

The importance of the flattened face I5. lies principally in the fact that it sets up against the sense of feel a sensation of the location yof the striking face. The contact of this flattened face- |5 against the palm of the hand creates a feeling as to the location of the striking face throughout the swing of the club. The player has the same sensation of location in striking the ball that he would have if he were directly contacting the ball with the palm or front side of his hand.

The oil'set relation of the ridge Il and the flattened face i5 both contribute to the attainment of an accurate impact with the ball. The ridge Il enables the player to grasp the club and have the feeling that the ridge is lowermost in both hands. This is the initial step in taking hold of the grip. In closing the hands firmly upon the grip as the final step, the player then becomes conscious of the feeling set up by the flattened face and therefore knows the location of the striking face. The full effectiveness of one of these features therefore would not be `obtained were the other not y present. f

The largest portion of the grip, i. e. the upper end, is clasped between the raised portion of the hand commonly referred to as the heel" and the little finger. Because of the protuberant character of the heel portion and the short length of the little finger it is diiiicult to adequately encircle the grip with the little finger. In arresting the backward swing of the club the little'nger is required to exercise a substantial proportion of control and in starting the downward swing of the club the little nnger of the uppermost hand is called upon to exert the major pull to set the club in motion. Such a pull cannot be made as effectively if the little finger does not adequately encircle the club. To enable the little finger of the uppermost hand to adequately grasp the club the grip is formed at the upper end with a recess Il to receive the heel of the hand and with a recess i9 to receive the outer pad of the little finger. The recess IB for the heel is the larger and is on the right side for a left handed player or is on the left side for a right handed player. The shallower recess I9 is diametrically opposite from recess Il.

The recesses I8 and I9 extend only part way around the circumference of the grip, and they merge gradually into the general contour of the grip. The seating of the heel of the hand and the finger in these recesses has the added advantage' of preventing slippage of the club within the hands both longitudinally and rotationally.l

An added advantage of the grip of this invention is that it assists the player to determine the distance location of the club head-i. e., the extension of the club head from the hands-during the power stroke, due to the increased sensing, afforded the hands through the grip, of the degree of flexing of the shaft. That is, the flexing ofthe shaft under the muscular efl'ort of the hands, is felt by the hands, and the players consciousness of the relation between the muscular effort made and the resulting ilex of the shaft, informs hlm of the position of the club head. 'Ihe present grip, by transmitting those factors to the vhands in an improved manner contributes to greater ac-y curacy in play.

While any desired composition -may be used First breakdown the rubber on a cool mill for 75 minutesi Next add the next three ingredients, mixing well on the mill.

'Zhen add the cork gradually, with rolls sufnciently open to avoid crushing the granules and too much heat.

Mill until the cork is thoroughly incorporated.

To apply to the shaft, roll the compound to a. thin sheet, coat the shaft with a. sticky cement, Wrap the sheet on to the thickness determined by trial, and cure 10 minutes in the mould at 50 F.

Cool the mold before removing.

This is a continuation in part of the copending application Ser. No. 714,320, filed onvMarch 6, i934, relating to a golf club grip.

While the different sides or faces oi the grip may be variously designated, it is'thought proper to say that the underside of the grip may be considered that side which faces kthe player when the club is addressing the ball, the upper side is that which faces in the diametrically opposite direction from the under side, the iront side is that side which faces in the general direction in which the ilight of the ballis to take place, and the rear side is that which "facesin the diametrically opposite direction from the front side. What is claimed is: i'. i Y, A golfclub having a head and a shaft with a substantially uniformly tapering grip, the major portion of the cross sectional contour of which is circular at all points throughout substantially the whole of the intermediate, or normal, vhand engaging part of the grip, and having another section of said contour provided with a rib formed by converging portions substantially tangential to said circle, said point of convergence being located on the under side of the grip, and said contour including a third substantially at faced section which is located at the back of the grip and extends for a substantial extent lengthwise of the grip.

JAMES VICTOR EAST. 20 

